Beach Community Energy Cooperative

Solar Array on Kew Beach Public School

Update September 2018

This September, the Beach Community Energy Cooperative is celebrating the two-year anniversary of the commissioning of the 72kW solar array on Kew Beach Public School. This community organized and funded initiative was a first for the province and won the OSEA award for Community Developer of the Year in 2017.

The roof is performing well and has been operating within two percent of our original energy output projections. A cleaning and maintenance inspection was recently conducted which revealed a significant amount of dust had built on up on the panels, most likely due to heavy construction at two nearby condo developments. We also discovered that one of the panels needed replacing due to the impact from a foul ball. Luckily, it was only the safety glass that cracked and the critical wires remained intact.

Following some software upgrades, we now have a live data feed that enables us to more accurately remotely monitor the performance of the solar array. This live feed is available for anyone to see on our website and is displayed on a TV screen in the school reception for the benefit of the students and visitors. The intention is that this data along with the school board’s own information on the school’s energy consumption, will be used by classes for experiments that relate to mathematics, statics and the environment.

We are grateful for the support of Bullfrog Power, without which this project would not have been possible. The Co-op is now developing plans for its next project: a community energy hub and microgrid.